Shouldn't This Be A Bigger Story?
Hmm. The Speaker of the House and a GOP Senator did not pay for freebie fundraisers that they held at Jack Abramoff's restaurant TWO YEARS AGO until BusinessWeek began asking questions this month. I would think that would be bigger news. And I can't imagine that they are the only ones:
A political action committee for House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) only
recently paid for a fundraising lunch that took place nearly two years ago at a
lobbyist's restaurant, a Hastert spokesman said.The June 3, 2003, event was at Signatures, an upscale restaurant partly
owned by lawyer-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who is being investigated by a grand
jury and two Senate committees over $80 million he charged several Indian tribes
for representing their casino interests.
The bill for the 2003 Hastert event went unpaid until this month, around
the time BusinessWeek Online began asking questions about the event, the news
site reported last week.
The fundraising expense has been filed with the Federal Election Commission, Hastert spokesman Ron Bonjean said. Fundraising costs in excess of $200 must be filed with the FEC.
Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) said his campaign also neglected to pay for a
fundraiser at Signatures, this one hosted by Abramoff in September 2003.
But here is my favorite part:
Vitter said he meant to pay for the event, but the restaurant mistakenly never
charged him for the $1,500 tab.
"Mistakenly." Riight. Waiting for the SCLM to run with this one.
UPDATE:
Here's the Business Week story as well.
